Newbury athletes miss out on top spot by just four points

A blustery wind made conditions difficult for the athletes, but Team Kennet finished with 356 points, just four behind winners Abingdon.

The other teams were Marlborough (323), Isle of Wight (203.5), Andover (199) and Winchester (168.5).

A large under-13 girls team meant stiff competition for places and they produced fantastic performance to win the age group.

Of particular note were A String wins for Quinn Joyce (800m), Penelope Lyth (1500m) and Matilda Clare (long jump) and B String wins for Elodie Burdett (1500m), Isla Ladds (long jump) and Penelope Gorbold (discus).

Second place finishes went to Matilda (javelin), Affra Bailey (shot) and the 4x100m relay team (Lyth, Ladds, Clare and Bailey).

The under-13 boys produced a series of strong performances which helped secure the overall category.

A String wins were achieved by Louis Cartwright, Jensen Nichols, Seb Lane and Freddy Downer (relay) and Jensen Nichols (javelin and discus).

B String wins went to Louis Cartwright (long jump), Alfie Cronk (discus) and Josh Kuijten (shot putt).

Second place finishes were achieved by Seb (75m hurdles and long jump), Jensen and Louis (100m), Freddy (800m and javelin) and Alfie (shot putt).

The dominance of the Team Kennet middle distance girls continued in the under-15 category with further A String wins for Harriet Saunders (1500m) and Olivia Bentley (800m) backed up by a B String win for Annie Warner (1500m).

Olivia secured a further A String win in the 200m whilst Harriet won the B String 300m.

Harriet, Annie and Olivia were joined by Isobel Payne to take victory in the A String 4x100m relay.

Despite fielding a small team, these successes, secured a creditable second place in the category.

The under-15 boys were up against some tough opposition on the track and, despite gaining some second places, missed out on individual wins.

In the field the boys showed their strength, however, with A String wins for Berkay Altuntas (discuss and shot) and B String wins for Harry Smith (long jump), Berkay (javelin), Rueben Kuijten (discus) and Oscar Hook (shot putt).

This team performance secured second place in the category overall.

The school exam season resulted in a reduced turnout in the women’s and men’s under-17 events but those who competed produced excellent results.

There were wins for Zoe Dickson (A discus and shot) and Suki Humphreys (B discus and shot) which secured an overall fourth place.

The men’s event saw victories for Turkey Altuntis (A discuss and shot), Haydn James (B long jump) and Theo Nightingale (B shot) help seal second place in the match.

Also in action were the Team Kennet Quadkids with a full squad of 20 athletes.

The under-11 girls won the match overall with 846 points and the U11 boys finished third with 824 points.

Combined, they took first place with 1,670 points.

Praiya Foreman won the U11 girls scoring 226 points, just ahead of Matilda Saunders (225 ).

Chester Bailey finished second overall in the U11 boys with 237 points.